BF3Blog has a screenshot from the Wake Island map in the new Return to Karkand DLC for Battlefield 3, suggesting it's a hint that DICE is gearing up to create Battlefield 2143. This is based on the appearance of the number 2143 on a wall, and they note that Battlefield 2142 was tipped with similar Easter eggs in the Battlefield 2: Euro Forces and Armored Fury map packs. Thanks Computer and Video Games.

Verno wrote on Dec 19, 2011, 14:05:I think the thing missing that ties those things all together is cooperation which is greatly facilitated by voicechat. Put differently, changing everything around and putting the commander role back into BF3 without voicechat wouldn't have a significant impact in my opinion.

As I pointed out earlier, voicechat wasn't commonly used in 2142. When a squad used it to coordinate, they did have an advantage as always, but they also usually didn't need to, something that's always been true to some degree in BF due to the spotting mechanic. In fact, its main tactical use is simply to cover for those times when the spot key just doesn't want to work for whatever reason.

In fact, my experience with Natural Selection suggests that voicechat can often severely harm unit cohesion when there is a mechanically-designated commander. When the commander has a voice, he's a person, and... well, you know FPS players. They're not always nice to people. Arguments will start over stupid things, any perceived failure is magnified, and people start fucking off in their own direction pretty fast. Without voice, somebody who has a bird's-eye view and can give orders is less likely to be seen as presumptuous for doing so. The orders are almost treated as though they were assigned by the computer; players simply judge whether the order seems valid considering their current location and armament, (assuming they notice they've been given an order) and follow it or don't. The worst that can ever be said of a silent commander is "well, this guy doesn't seem to know what he's doing all that well," and the cheap goodwill built up by dropping a box, however unnecessary it is, can often be enough to convince people to accept an objective anyway.

I guess the main thing missing here is why objectives are important. Players have a strong tendency to pile onto one place as soon as they hear there's action there. In fact, they have a tendency to approach it almost completely from one obvious direction. Having somebody with the perceived authority to give squads something else to do is what makes the difference between tactics and a consensual meat-grinder.